Abstract
Using two different technical approaches (modified Reid and Dormandy and initial filtration flow rate methods), the RBC deformability has been determined under various conditions, in order to estimate the role of the membrane. On normal human RBCs, the rigidity index (IR) is the same for the whole cell as for the membranes. The thermal variations of IR (between 5 and 40°C) are the same for the whole cells as for the ghosts. Moreover they show the same low temperature transition as the one presented by natural and artificial lipid bilayers.
Using RBC from various species of mammals, the filtration indices of the intact cells and of the ghosts are only correlated with the membrane cholesterol/phospholipids ratio. Therefore, we think that, in the above mentioned conditions, the RBC deformability is mainly controlled by its membrane composition and organization.
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